Horror isn't my favorite genre, but there are some real standouts in the campy, horny, queer comic collection. I loved "The Burr Tree" by Geov Chouteau, a mysterious little fairy tale; I loved "Sanguine" by Emeric Kennard, a wordless story of a beautiful bat being driven insane by cursed mask; I was chilled by "The Shepard" by Justin Hall and Alegra Figeroid, an excellent vampire story; and I laughed at Justin Hall's ridiculously silly and delightful "Full Moon", which mixes up werewolves and sailor scouts in an only-in-San-Francisco way. (I also illustrated a short story for this collection, "Werekat", written by Rachel Pollack which I think turned out pretty good!)

I bought this paperback used at least 10 years ago because it had owls in it. With the library closed, I am finally chipping away at some of the novels in my eternal to-read pile! This was quick and fun, if a bit predicable. One day Roy sees a barefoot boy running across a series of lawn as the school bus pulls away from the curb in his Florida town. Curious, Roy tries to figure out who he is and what he was doing. It turns out this mysterious runaway is trying to defend the burrowing owls who live on a plot of land slatted for development into a Miss Paula's Pancake House. Very much in the tone of Holes, though without the intergenerational curse. A good book for a young reader.

I raced through this 400 page book in two days, which is my favorite way to read a book! It's been a while since I read a YA book that I enjoyed so much. Bri is a high school junior at a Midtown Arts Academy but she lives in Garden Heights with her single mom and her older brother. She dreams of being a rapper like her father, shot and killed when she was four in a gang related conflict. Her mom wants her to focus on SAT and ACT test prep, get into a good school and go to college. Bri's best friends, Sonny, a gay visual arts student, and Malik, a filmmaker, thrive academically but Bri keeps getting sent to the principle's office for every tiny defiance. Finally, Bri's aunt is able to use her connections to secure Bri a chance at a freestyle rap battle in the Ring- of course her opponent is the son of a music producer with one or two vapid viral hip-hop tracks already released. I was literally sweating while I read the section about Bri freestyling, getting sympathetic stage fright. The pacing of this story is so satisfying- a perfect mix of action moments and scenes of reflection or family time. It had the heightened stakes of a YA novel, but grounded by the very real emotions of the characters. Plus there are moment that it made me laugh out loud!

This book is wonderful. Juliet is a 19 year old Puerto Rican teen from the Bronx, getting ready for an internship with her favorite feminist writer between her freshman and sophomore years of college. Before she finishes packing her bags and leaves for Portland, Oregon, Juliet needs to finish the epic mix CD she's making for her secret girlfriend- and also come out to her family as a lesbian. Will she be able to do it at the family dinner table, or will she chicken out? So begins Juliet's whirlwind summer, full of adventure and new experiences: vegan food, polyamory, middle-aged dyke drama, heartbreak, radical politics, love, haircuts. A big theme of this book is the inadequacy of white allies in conversations about racism, racial micro aggressions, and how to navigate friendships with people who have let you down. Do you abandon them? Do you try to educate them? I really appreciated these conversations in a YA book, they were very well done. Overall it's a fast, fun read, the deep topics mixed with simmering sweet summer romance.

This is a slim but exceptional volume. I've been a fan and follower of Alok Vaid-Menon's online presence for a long time; it's absolutely delightful to dig deeper into their poetry. It's hard to pick a favorite piece because all of the poems are so strong, and also come from the same emotional place. One line that has kept ringing in my head, even two weeks after reading it, is this: "it is hard to have your abundance mistaken as absence" (pg 7).

A Queer and Pleasant Danger has the best subtitle ever. Bornstein lays out the whole story of her life, from Jewish New Jersey boy to high powered Scientology missionary and salesman to fledgling San Francisco lesbian performance artist to the blossoming Seattle sadomasochist and star. It is quite a story, one of the best autobiographies I have ever read.

I listened to this collection of 15 retellings of Asian myths written by contemporary POC writers as an audiobook. All of the stories were good, but these especially stood out to me: "Olivia's Table" by Alyssa Wong, about a Chinese American teenager who must cook a banquet for the hungry ghosts of an Arizona mining town; "Counting the Vermilion Beads" by Aliette de Bodard, about two sisters trying to escape a life of working as accountants to the Emperor; "The Land of the Morning Calm" by E.C. Meyers about a teen girl who's mother was obsessed with an MMORPG based on Korean myths- and who may still haunt the game after her death; and "Bullet, Butterfly" by Elsie Chapman, set in a dystopian future China, a teen boy soldier disguises himself and sneaks out of the hospital to work in the city armory. I wish that the authors of each story had read their own works in the audiobook; instead, the majority of the stories from female POVs are read by an AFAB narrator; the stories from male POVs are read by an AMAB narrator. This didn't add to my listening pleasure, but overall I still enjoyed the book.

Murderbot learns that its previous mission to gather evidence of GrayCris Corporation's illegal mining operations has caused that company to lash out against the team from Preservation. Specifically they have captured Murderbot's favorite human, Dr. Mensah. Murderbot has to plan a rescue mission, which is very stressful, especially when all it really wants to do is watch entertainment media. This series stays sharp and the reluctant protagonist so, so relatable.